Sue Oppenheimer dies at 85

Suzanne A. Oppenheimer, a longtime Rockville Centre resident and the mother of Village Trustee Edward Oppenheimer, died at South Nassau Communities Hospital on May 19 after a brief bout with pneumonia. She was 85.

Oppenheimer was born Suzanne Bernstein in Manhattan on Oct. 6, 1927. Following in the footsteps of her father, she earned a degree in journalism from NYU, and spent her career in the publishing industry, working as an editor at Ladies’ Home Journal, Modern Bride, the Saturday Review and other publications.

In 1958, Oppenheimer and her husband, Richard, bought a home in Rockville Centre, where they spent the rest of their lives. Suzanne became an active member of the community not long after joining it. In the 1960s, she was the PTA president of the Morris Elementary School, and was also president of the PTA Council — all while working full-time.

“For as long as I’ve been in the school district, Sue Oppenheimer has been a vital part of our life,” said Superintendent Dr. William Johnson. “Sue knew how to be a friend. She was with us in the good times and the hard times — she was always standing next to us. She was always upbeat and never [had] a harsh word to say about anyone. She always could figure out a way to make the worst of situations look like the glass was almost full.”

Oppenheimer was well-known in the community for her involvement with many different groups. She worked with the school district and the village, was a longtime member of the Rockville Centre Democratic Club and, in her later years, was a member of the board of her co-op.

“She was a very community-minded person who was always there to do the difficult and often unheralded work that has to be done to keep an organization active,” said Henry Boitel, president of the Democratic Club, which Oppenheimer served as secretary for more than a decade. “All this stuff about keeping records, who the members are, who should get notices, etcetera. All that kind of stuff she was excellent at.

“She was a really important person in the community in terms of keeping the flow of things for those organizations,” Boitel added.

Oppenheimer worked with the Rockville Centre School District for many years. Before it went digital, she wrote and published the Your Schools newsletter. She was scheduled to work the district’s election on Tuesday, signing residents in to vote, providing them with assistance and helping with the ballot counting at the end of the night. It was a job she had done for many years, and one she most recently did for the bond vote in March.

“She was a wonderful woman and a wonderful asset to the district,” said Board of Education President Liz Dion. “She was something. She was very involved with the school district for years. She was very involved with the elections, so it’s somewhat fitting that her memorial is on Election Day. She was a lovely woman.”

She was also active in the village administration. She was a member of the Housing Authority for more than a decade and served as its chairwoman, and was also a member of the village’s Transportation Committee.

“She liked doing that stuff,” said Edward. “She liked working with people. It was something to keep her going. If I didn’t call her by 10 a.m. to say hello, I couldn’t reach her until dinnertime. She was constantly doing something, whether it was with the village, Central Synagogue or doing something for the co-op. She never stopped. She preferred to keep busy.”

Oppenheimer was known for her dependable attendance at public meetings of both the school district and the village. She was active politically as well, working on the campaigns of her son, former Mayors Mary Bossart and Eugene Murray and many village trustees. But she never ran for office herself.

In addition to her political work, Oppenheimer was an active member of Central Synagogue. She edited and proofread the bulletin, and was always eager to help. “She was always saying yes,” said Rabbi Marc Gruber. “If you asked her to pitch in and do something, Sue would do it.

“She did all this stuff very much because she felt it was worthwhile and important, and not for the recognition that it would bring her,” he added. “I wish we had more people like Sue.”

Richard Oppenheimer died in 2007. Suzanne is survived by her son; a daughter, Jill Berman; and her grandchildren, Sarah and Andrew Oppenheimer and Jonathon and Eric Berman. Her memorial service was scheduled for Tuesday at Gutterman’s Funeral Home. The family asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America.

Though her funeral was held the day of the school district election, Edward said he still planned to vote in the morning because his mother would have wanted him to. “That’s one of the things I learned from her,” he said. “You don’t give up your voice.”